The White Working Class

Episode #64

The White Working Class

TalkPoverty Radio relaunched as Off-Kilter. Listen to new episodes of the show on Soundcloud, and follow the show on Facebook and Twitter.

This election cycle, stories about the white working class have dominated the news. But despite being widely covered, this group may also be one of the most misunderstood. We’re joined by journalist and native Kansan Sarah Smarsh to discuss what the mainstream media’s getting wrong when it comes to this voting bloc. Another issue that has gotten a lot of play in the 2016 election cycle is disability. But a little-known fact is that workers with disabilities can legally be paid far below minimum wage, with some earning just pennies an hour. To commemorate Disability Employment Awareness Month, we speak with Jordan Melograna, the filmmaker behind Bottom Dollars, a new documentary that shines a spotlight on the sub-minimum wage, and Cheryl Bates-Harris, an advocate with the National Disability Rights Network. But first, Jeremy Slevin returns to discuss this week’s news in poverty.